Surveys

There are two surveys on the right of this blog for ETE service users to consider. These will help inform us how the service is working and will provide an avenue for your comments and feedback. Happy Surveying. M@

Return of the Blog

After some time without access to this blog, the internet has granted us access once again. We hope to use this blog as once before for giving information about service upgrades, changes and news on ETE. Watch this space. Matt

Snow fall!

Please! is it so hard to see.
Where is the really humanity?


Fall! Fall! White and pure snow.
You all taht dirty can show
They think they don't let me go
From them long time ago; I did flow.

Is beyond this comprehension the philosophy!
So, they will never understand the duality
Thus; is very hard from them to see
What they glance is just a small part of me

The real me... The big part ; that no one can conceal
The one who all can feel!
The part of me that is magic
THe one who doesn't fear the trgic

That part of me did grow!
Is almost in the right point; melow.
Althought, I feel a strange feeling in my heart
My feelings and my thoughts from humans are falling apart!

What a big and and bitter disappointment...
No! fae from that; I will never miss a love appointment!
That appointment it was made by; my Master!
With HIm all must be on time; Nothing faster.

I had to know! To have my Master blessing
Isn't neccessary to give anything!
To Him is just to send;
from inside the best; from Him the blesse to lend .

Cold as snow is the way i feeel!
Pure as white, Iknow that you are real...
He gave me the faculty of interpretation!
And long, have beeing my formation.

All I see; All I feel; I send to Him!
All I do the way I live; is trought Him!
Throught Him my mistakes; had a punishment
Trought Him my life is florescent!

My faculty of interpretation; for me is very hard!
No, They don't want me honest! They would like me to drab...
And depravation after me; all to drag.
Every nsingle day I herad that brag!

The duality... What way to take? Decision!
That I can do with precision.
The must important! To believe in love or not?
Without any doubt with love I did a knot!

Heaven or Hell? Easy one!
Of course the special one...
Duality! Way or not to the eternity!
The other one; to love among the humanity

But... No, for love they say:
No way! Go away!
Here there are no place.
No place for such thing! So I ask to my Grace.

Is this your kingdom? There are the duality... After!
Freedom of choice in the kingdom of love; matter.
Is true my life is a nightmare;
Worse! Because is cause by unconscient people... I don't care.

Duality of life on Earth... Love or depravation?
This decison leads to annihilation of salvation
Annihilation end of all reaction
Salvation! Live before and after! Always up... Without interruption

No place for love where to go?
No place for peace all evelty flow
No place to be honest and sincere
<>

Manuel Vasco

(Client of The Education, Training and Employment (ETE) Department at The Passage)

Streetmate

Glenn, our much loved Vocational Guidance Worker has given birth to a new website called 'Streetmate'. It's aimed at the single homeless person in London and gives news and advice around three key areas: Housing, Working and Learning.

We hope to get Glenn to write a few words in the near future, but until then - here's the link:

Time: The Great Healer

You wouldn’t expect to have a spiritual experience at half past seven on a Tuesday morning while going for the paper, would you? Well I did. It was nothing huge and there were no flashes of bright light or images of saints, there were no voices either, it was just a very personal, very freeing realisation that gave me an immediate sense of peace and more importantly a great barrel of hope, something I sometimes sorely lack.

I live above the Passage Day Centre in Montfort House; I’ve been there for nearly eighteen months in a bed-sit, prior to that I was at Passage House hostel and before that I was on the street and a regular at the very same day centre. It used to open at 7am back then but now it opens at eight. I’ve learnt a lot about the organisation, mainly because they’ve been my crutch while I’ve had to limp through part of my journey.

So this morning as I came back from buying my paper, the queue as usual was quite long with a varied group of homeless and vulnerable people lining up to get a hearty breakfast or a hot shower. I pass them most days and only once in while will I recognise someone from my time, someone who didn’t make it off the street or whose luck just never ran long enough to get back on their feet. It pains a little to see them, especially when they don’t acknowledge me, or sometimes can’t. But this morning it wasn’t a client I recognised, it was Lloyd, one of the project workers; He was marshalling the line and taking names for entry down stairs. Not a very remarkable happening as I have seen him doing this many times in the last year or so, this time though he beamed a huge smile at me as he returned my “Good Morning”. And that’s when it happened.

I suddenly remembered two and a half years ago, I was in the depths of despair, a broken, ill man living on the steps of the Cathedral and praying most nights not to wake up in the morning. It was a Saturday afternoon and there was a craft fair in the square, I was too ashamed to go anywhere near there and so I sat away, wrapped in my thick coat of self-pity and sadness. A car parked not far from me and a happy family came past on their way to the festivities, I recognised Lloyd immediately - as he did me. I merely nodded and said good afternoon to him, I must have looked wretched but it was nothing he hadn’t seen many times before, I’m sure. He paused as he passed me and he said the words which have now become manifest in my life, he placed faith in my future that afternoon and somehow I have nurtured it, I cannot deny the miracle because I am the proof of it, do you know what he said?

“You are going to be fine, just give it time and it’ll be alright.”

I smiled all the way back to my room this morning, you see Lloyd has seen through his promise - because with help I have given it time, I’m actually fine and things are all right. I just needed reminding.

Boyce Van Rensburg

Filling the Gap

A few months ago I was made redundant from my job in the city and had a stand down period in which I was not allowed to work. After getting over the initial shock I was left wondering what to do with my sudden influx of spare time, so after a holiday I thought about coming down to The Passage to do some volunteer work. I knew about The Passage having spent a community team works day here with my previous company and had really enjoyed it so I came down to see if there was anything I was able to help with.

I got in contact with Sarah Norwood via the website and then David Boulton, both of whom were very welcoming and extremely grateful. Thanks to their ruthless efficiency, before I knew it I was wearing a pair of yellow gloves and a rather fetching apron and was elbow deep in dish water!

In short I found the volunteer work in the day centre really rewarding. Tasks ranged from clearing and wiping tables, serving breakfast and lunch, washing dishes, operating the till, working in the clothing store and helping out with odd jobs in the kitchen. Often I’d stop for chats with the clients and was able to find out more about their diverse backgrounds. In general the clients were easy to talk to and seemed to really enjoy the interaction. It was mutual.

At the end of each day I would leave The Passage with a very unique sense of fulfilment and I was always in a buoyant mood at the end of it. It really felt great.

While I was doing a shift one morning I got chatting to Bev McGregor who asked me if I wanted to come upstairs to the Education, Training and Employment (ETE) department which helps clients to get back on their feet through aiding with CV preparation, setting up email addresses,Voicemail4all accounts and advice on employment.

For me, imparting general PC skills that most of us take for granted was really enjoyable. Helping clients get set up and back on their feet and seeing them go through interview processes and have some success was just brilliant. These were tangible results as a direct result of our help.

While I was there I attended a Business in the Community (BITC) open day where CEO's from various bluechip companies including Marks & Spencers and Clifford Chance were present to find out more about providing work experience opportunities for clients. Seeing the clients interact with prominent business leaders was great and hopefully we will see some positive results come out of these invaluable sessions.

I cannot talk about my experience at The Passage without mentioning all of the staff and volunteers. It is hard to find appropriate adjectives to describe the sense of welcome and camaraderie they put across. Each day I spent volunteering would fly by and chats would be about anything and everything, from learning about peoples varying backgrounds, to politics, to priesthood to footballer’s salaries! They are a collectively a very caring bunch and I was really touched to be told that I was being prayed for by the weekly prayer group that another job would come along!

I have since found another role now so I will be working in the city again and my time here will be less frequent. If you are contemplating doing some volunteer work I can’t speak highly enough of the enriching experience that can be gained.

My time here has given me a great sense of perspective along with a good dose of realism and has made me appreciate smaller things that are otherwise taken for granted. Many of the homeless are just like you or I but have just had a bad run of luck, so I would implore you to exercise a little philanthropy and get in touch with The Passage!

Haydn Scott

Poem on Drink

Just have a sip of the devil's juice
Mind fragments like a torn paper piece
Body organs cry where is my peace?
Lunacy prevails for all to see

Sore heads, fluids drained, money spent
Shun any attention because of stress
Alcohol has made you his servant
Wonder why you made a big mess

The juice creeps in your system
Addiction is inevitable
Antics of a madman, and its all mayhem.

by Tapiwa Zungunde